The New Jersey Nets were one of the teams to pass on Kobe Bryant in the 1996 NBA Draft but it turns out they did so because of the man himself. On NBA Today, former Nets executive Bobby Marks revealed they wanted to draft Bryant but were told he would play in Italy if they picked him.
“We passed on Kobe in that ’96 draft,” Marks said. “… I don’t want my good friend Kerry Kittles to be mad at me. We passed on it because we thought Kobe was going to go and play in Italy. We were threatened that he was going… To this day, the greatest draft workout I’ve ever seen in my life.”
The Nets had the eighth pick in that draft, and Bryant was on the board when it was their turn. As much as they wanted to pick him, they didn’t want to take the risk of him going overseas and chose to draft Kerry Kittles. The Charlotte Hornets ended up drafting Bryant with the 13th pick and then traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Kittles’ rookie season was far better than Bryant’s, as he averaged 16.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.9 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game to make the All-Rookie Second Team. That season and maybe the sophomore one were the only two seasons in which he was the better player, though.
Bryant would go on to win five titles, two Finals MVPs, an MVP, and two scoring titles in his storied career. He won one of those titles by helping the Lakers beat the Nets in the 2002 NBA Finals and that had to have stung their front office. In an ideal world, Bryant would have been suiting up for them in that series.
Kittles, meanwhile, was bogged down by one injury after another in his career. He never won a title or an individual award and was forced to retire in 2005 because his body kept breaking down.
While some might think that Marks was trying to protect his own backside here, there is reason to believe he was speaking the truth. Sonny Vaccaro, who was responsible for Bryant signing with Adidas in 1996, once revealed that he knew the Nets were the team most interested in drafting the teenager among those who were going to pick before the Lakers.
It sure would have been interesting to see what Bryant would have done had the Nets picked him. Would he have actually decided to go to Italy? Well, the great man is no longer among us today to answer that question. You’d have to say it was unlikely he’d have taken that step, though.
Marks also stated there that Bryant’s workout was the best he had ever seen, and he was far from the only one impressed by the youngster back then. The Los Angeles Clippers had the seventh pick of the draft and they had brought in Bryant for a workout too.
Bryant once revealed that the Clippers told him his workout was the best they’d ever seen but they also informed him they won’t pick him. The reason? Well, they didn’t feel they’d be taken seriously in Los Angeles if they drafted a teenager.
You could argue the Clippers are still not taken too seriously in the area. That might not have been the case, though, if they had drafted Bryant.
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